How do I get started homeschooling?

Question

I live in Ky and I am seriously looking into homeschooling my 4 year old (he would start school in august) can anyone tell me how to get start and where I can find info and support for doing this?

Answer 1

I would not recommend asking the local school district. I have found that they can be uninformed and, of course, where I live there is nearly $5,000 per child riding on my children's heads that they don't get from the state because I don't send them to school. That tells me their goal would be to give me information that would lead me to send my child to their school.

To find out about homeschooling laws in your state, you could check HSLDA.org or NHEN.org.

I would suggest finding a local homeschool support group. Many have introductory meetings for people new to homeschooling in the summer or fall.

Answer 2

You need to find out what the local laws of your state are ... for example, where I live, we don't have to legally register our home schooled kids until they are 8 y/o.  Find out if you need to sign a letter of intent to home school.  HSLDA should have a link for all the state laws - check there first.  Also ask your local school district (if they are the helpful type) as they should be able to tell you.  Look into joining local area home school groups - yahoo actually has many listed, and they are a great source of info and support.

Hope this helps

Answer 3

There are two main sources on the internet for finding your state's laws. One is A2Z Home'sCool, and the other is HSLDA (I linked them below). A2Z's site, however, also has a billion links to local support groups, "how to get started" articles, and many other useful items for new homeschoolers.

There are a some other things that I would suggest when first starting out:

1) Join your statewide homeschooling support Yahoo! group. In Yahoo! groups, do a search for "homeschooilng Kentucky" and you'll come up with a nice array of groups to choose from. The answers you get there will be far more useful and appropriate than answers you'll get here on a world-wide forum.

2) Get a hold of at least a few homeschooling books and get an idea of what it's like to homeschool.

3) Go to a conference. Conferences are a great way to get to know homeschoolers, see what's out there, and hear about different methods and styles from people who have experience.

I've also included a link to a great website specifically for homeschooling preschoolers.

Good luck!

Answer 4

Go to your states web site and find out your laws first. That's the first and most important thing to do. Especially with the California ruling.

Next you need to pick a curriculum and style of teaching. No one can tell you which curriculum is best because everyone is different. You have to choose what will work better for you and for him. Don't be surprised if you have to try things out.

Good Luck and if you have more questions e-mail me.

Answer 5

Once you've sorted out the legalities, I suggest you look here:

http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/meth...

Have a read through, and see if any of these make you say "YES, YES! That's what I want!!" If you get that sort of reaction from yourself on one or more, you know what to research further. Most people blend a few together. I, for example, mostly follow The Well Trained Mind (Classical) which is influenced by the Charlotte Mason method. Settling on one doesn't mean you can't tweak it to suit your family whenever you feel like it. There is no one right way to homeschool. If you do pick a method, you would be wise to sign up to some online group(s) or forum(s.) They are invaluable sources of info. See if you can find a local group too.

The other resources I have found to be immensely useful are:

http://www.homeschoolmath.net/reviews/ and http://homeschoolreviews.com/ and of course, amazon.com is great for reviews too.

I have a table drawn up with grade level down one side and subjects across the top. Slowly I'm plugging in curriculums, books etc. I keep a list of interesting resources, in case my first choice becomes unavailable or my kids don't like it. Obviously all plans get changed, but if you have no plan, you don't get started. It's also helpful to have a long term plan laid out like this. Homeschooling has short term (today), medium term (this year) and long term (what do I want them to have accomplished by the time they are 18.) If you know your long term goals, you can more efficiently plan out your medium and short term aims.

The more research you do, the more you will clarify your thoughts on what you want to teach and how you want to teach it. You know your child better than anyone else. If you read a review saying "My children loathed this curriculum because it had no coloured pictures" and you know your kids get distracted with too much colour, it's worth looking into that one for yourselves. Etc.

Good luck! :)

Answer 6

For support and info about homeschooling go to HSLDA

http://www.youcanhomeschool.org/starther...

If you need help finding curriculum, try to find a homeschool convention that will take place near you. If you can't find a local homeschool convention then try looking for curriculum on this site.

http://homeschoolingtogether.com